This chapter is from the book

The Tablet PC was made for OneNote. Well, not really, but if you have a Tablet
PC and OneNote, you'll enjoy the best of OneNote and your Tablet PC as
you quietly and discretely take handwritten notes at meetings, where a laptop
and keyboard can be distracting or difficult to use.

When the meeting has ended, OneNote can translate your handwriting into text
or search your notes as if they were typed text.

OneNote on a Tablet PC is not only good for handwritten notes, but is also
useful for adding drawings and callouts to your typed notes.

If you don't have a Tablet PC, you can still use some of the handwriting
features found in this chapter; however, you won't be able to convert your
writing to text or search it. The Tablet PC's digital screen provides features
unavailable to mouse or graphics tablet users.

While most of this chapter talks about using OneNote on a Tablet PC, the drawing
features can be used by anyone. Also, when Tablet PC users share notes with
others, everyone has the ability to search the notes written on a Tablet PC
or convert them to text.

Creating Handwritten Notes

With a Tablet PC, creating handwritten notes is nearly as easy as writing on
paper. What's more, your handwritten notes are searchable, just as they
are. And if you like, you can convert them so that they look like typed text.

To make your work easier, display the Drawing and Writing Tools toolbar, if
it's not already visible, by choosing View > Toolbars > Drawing and
Writing Tools. The toolbar appears on the left side of the main OneNote window.
Using the toolbar, you can select a pen, the Eraser tool, the Selection tool,
and the Delete command, and you can insert writing space and convert handwriting
to text (Figure 5.1).

To enter handwriting in OneNote:

Turn on ruled lines by choosing View > Ruled Lines. Select a line size
that matches your handwriting and write on the line. Doing so increases
the accuracy of OneNote in recognizing your written words (Figure
5.2).

Remember what you learned in grade school: keep your writing between the
lines. Doing so will improve the accuracy of handwriting recognition. You can
turn off the lines after you are finished writing.

Use the grid if you have problems with the spacing between words.

You can combine handwriting with typed text and drawings on the samepage.

To add more writing space:

Do one of the following:

Add a subpage.

Click the Insert Extra Writing Space icon or choose this option from
the Insert menu.

Figure
5.5 The Eraser tool deletes each pen stroke separately, allowing you to
remove some text without affecting nearby text. In the bottom figure, the eraser
was used to remove the X over Produ-Codes in the top figure and is now being
used to erase amtech.

TIP

If your stylus has an eraser end, you can use it to erase text.

OneNote for Lefties

Tablet PC users may discover that the scroll bars and tabs on the right of
the screen feel unnatural when handwriting, especially users who are
left-handed.

Not to worry; these can be moved to the left side:

Choose Tools > Options to open the Options dialog box and select
Display.

Add a check to Page Tabs Appear on the Left and Vertical Scroll Bar
Appears on the Left (Figure 5.6).